Saving for the “Skinny Years,” Prime Minister Drew Explains the Role of the Sovereign Wealth Fund

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 9, 2026 (PMO) – The St. Kitts and Nevis Sovereign Wealth and Resilience Fund is designed to give the Federation greater financial room to protect households and maintain essential public services when revenues fall, or costs rise sharply. Speaking with members of the media at his Roundtable Session on November 5, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, said the fund will allow the country to save and invest part of its extraordinary revenues in stronger years so that resources are available when the country needs them most.

Prime Minister Drew said St. Kitts and Nevis would have been in a stronger position to respond to today’s cost-of-living pressures if it had set aside a portion of the revenues generated through the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme and the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF). He said successive surpluses offered an opportunity to build a reserve that could have helped finance relief when higher costs began putting pressure on household budgets.

“I’m talking about surplus after surplus.  …Put it in a sovereign wealth fund, invest it properly, so when you get the seven years of skinny, you go, you take it, and you ease the burden,” Dr. Drew said.

Making reference to the biblical story of the seven fat cows and the seven skinny cows, where grain was stored during years of plenty so there would be enough to draw on when harvests failed, Prime Minister Dr. Drew said the same principle applies to public finances. Decisions made when revenues are strong determine how much room a government has to respond when conditions change.

“But how you survive the bad years is determined by how well you manage the good years, and you didn’t waste,” the Prime Minister said.

The National Assembly passed the St. Kitts and Nevis Sovereign Wealth and Resilience Fund Bill on March 31, 2026. The legislation provides for professional investment management and sets rules for how money is paid into and withdrawn from the fund. CBI receipts and potential future proceeds from geothermal energy are among the sources identified for the fund. The framework is designed to preserve savings over time while allowing the government to draw on them when specified conditions are met.

Dr. Drew described the current period of higher costs as the “skinny years.” He pointed to electricity subsidies and back-to-school assistance as examples of the steps the government has taken to give families some breathing room.

The Prime Minister added that the lesson from earlier CBI windfalls should guide how the country manages future extraordinary revenues. By setting aside and investing a portion when the money comes in, St. Kitts and Nevis can be better prepared to keep essential services running and help families through the next downturn.

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